Friday, January 11, 2013

Apparently my daughter is quite spoiled, considering we had enough crayons to fill each cozy with the appropriate color. The idea was to get these annoying crayons off the floor and out of random places where they did not belong. These crayon cup rainbow cozies turned out to be a great way to store all those lost crayons that are missing their home and keep ending up on the floor.

WARNING: These might bring life back to arts and crafts and create a desire for small children to want to color

Required Materials

9 empty plastic water bottles (Use any brand. The ones that have the rings around them making it easier to size the cup holder). The plastic bottles from Whole Foods is what I used. Specifically the brand, Crystal Geyser 16.9 fl oz.

Crochet Hook: Size H (smaller size if available for assistance in weaving in ends)

7-8 boxes of crayons (During back-to-school season these can be a cheap as $1.00 per box.

Clear Plastic Cup Holder (Make 9 Plastic Cup Holders)

This is a great way to recycle all those accumulating water bottles. The base of the crayon holder is the bottom of a plastic water bottle.

Start with the 9 empty plastic water bottles.

Start cutting the tops off each one using the heavy duty scissors careful not to smash them.

Once the tops are removed it is easier to shape the bottles to the size you prefer. I used 7 rings from the bottom approximately 5.5 inches.

Cut along the inside of the 7th ridge from the bottom of the plastic water bottle to create the plastic cup for the crayons. This is the cup that actually holds the crayons. The crochet portion will wrap around the plastic cup holder. This should hold about one small box of crayons.

Repeat these directions for all 9 plastic water bottles. The results 9 plastic cup holders for your crayons.

If you do not want these crayon cozies to disappear into bedrooms and small cubbies, you may want to make them stationary.

My daughter loves these so much she seems to want to carry them everywhere she goes. It has actually helped clean up time. She is actually excited to clean up her crayons, but more importantly she is learning how to keep them organized while using them rather than dumping the entire box or container on the floor.I advise that you attach small pieces of velcro tape at the bottom of each plastic cup and the top of something sturdy enough to hold them stationary so they do not tip over while being used. They can be attached to the top of a kids table, plexiglass, or large plastic lid.

Crochet Pattern for the Crayon Cozies

Ch 25 (MC)

Row 1: (MC) sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in the next 23 ch. (24 sc). Sl st into the 1st sc creating a ring. Be careful not to twist the the rnd.

Rnd 2: (MC) ch 2 - (ch 2 does not count as a hdc - see NOTE for clarification), hdc in same st as the ch 2, continue to hdc in every st around to the 1st hdc , sl st in the top of the 1st hdc, not the ch 2 (24 hdc), fasten off.

Important Author’s Note:

Be careful not to add any additional stitches while making the rounds. The ch 2 does not count as a hdc so you want to be careful not to use the starting st twice. The 1st hdc is made in the same st as the ch 2, therefore the stitch should not be used again at the end. It might look like you are skipping the last hdc in the rnd, but if you count the stitches in that round you should have 24 hdc.

Rnd 3: (CC) switch yarn to CC, sl st into starting st, (ch 2 does not count as a hdc - see NOTE for clarification), hdc in same st as the ch 2, continue to hdc in every st around to the 1st hdc , sl st in the top of the 1st hdc, not the ch 2 (24 hdc), fasten off.

Rnd 4: (MC) sl st using MC into starting st, (ch 2 does not count as a hdc - see NOTE for clarification), hdc in same st as the ch 2, continue to hdc in every st around to the 1st hdc , sl st in the top of the 1st hdc, not the ch 2 (24 hdc). Do not fasten off.

Rnd 5: (MC) Repeat rnd 4, (Do not fasten off).

Rnd 6: (MC) Repeat rnd 2, (fasten off).

Rnd 7: (CC) Repeat rnd 3, (fasten off).

Rnd 8: (MC) Repeat rnd 4, (Do not fasten off).

Rnd 9: (MC) ch 1, sc in same st as the ch 1, continue to sc in every st around to the 1st sc, sl st in 1st sc. Do not fasten off.

Rnd 10: (MC) Do not ch, sl st in every sc around to 1st sl st. cut yarn and fasten off and weave in ends.Make 9 cozies: Brown, Purple, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Grey, and White

I think fastening off between colors looks better than connecting colors in the rnd. If you prefer to continue without fastening off between colors, you will want to connect the alternating color at the start of each rnd when you sl st completing the rnd.

I have debated on whether I should post my patterns for free or not for quite awhile. Please do not discourage the creative community by stealing others work. Do not steal this pattern as your own it is plagiarism and violates copyright laws. Do not steal this pattern and sell it claiming it as your own it is dishonest, harmful, and just wrong. However if you choose to sell your completed projects, please reference my blog. Thank you! Please enjoy!

Friday, January 4, 2013

It's interesting when a project is started especially if its freehand it might not always turn out the way you think. This was supposed to be a flower and it sort of morphed into a butterfly. The headband is an easy shell pattern and I added a crocheted butterfly to give it some personality.

Ch 3 - magic ring, ch 5 (counts as sc and edge of wing).Rnd 1: sc in ring, *ch 5, sc in ring, rep from * to make 4 (5-ch loops) ending sl st in 1st sc to join. (4 times)Rnd 2: In 1st 5-ch loop make (sc, 2 hdc, 7 dc, 2 hdc, sc) and make the same for all remaining 3-ch loops, ending the last rep with sl st in 1st sc to join. (4 times)Rnd 3: move to work behind Rnd 1, on back side slip st around connecting post of sc (place crochet hook through open hole and wrap the sl st around post to come up in the back) chain 7 repeat around to make 4 parts to the 2 wings that line up with previous row. (4 times)Rnd 4: in 1st 7-ch loop make (sc, 2 hdc, 9 dc, 2 hdc, sc) and make the same for all remaining 7-ch loops, ending the last rep with sl st in 1st sc to join. Do not fasten off. (4 times)Antenna: *Ch 9, hdc in 3rd ch from hook, sl st in next ch until you reach the top of the butterfly* 1 antenna created. Repeat from * to create 2nd antenna. (2 times) Fasten off with a long tail for sewing. Tie tail and starting chain to tighten magic ring to adjust center of butterfly to liking. The looser the magic ring the more open the the base of the butterfly will be.I use these on anything that needs just a little extra personality. Enjoy! Please let me know how they turn out and of course if you have any questions.